At first, it looked like a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered state of California. Meg Whitman, an accomplished business executive with the very consumer friendly “Ebay” name attached to her own, was leading slightly in the fight to be California’s next Governor. It was still a tight race, yes, but Democratic gubernatorial nominee (and the guy who was California Governor when I was in 5th grade) Jerry Brown, a perennial government employee, was struggling to find a compelling message amid the anti-Obama backlash. And then Ms. Whitman (and her entire family) got hit with a very ugly surprise. Nicky...